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Steam Controller overview and videos/impressions
- Thread starter ashecitism
- Start date
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CrAzY FiNgErS
Member
I may buy HOTD Overkill to practice with the Steam Controller. Are there any other games that have extensive stat tracking?
I would be interested in how I do with this using my Steam Controller vs. my kb+m. That way I can track how much I improve with the Steam Controller. Hopefully the more I use it the better I will get.
Burgess_101
Member
I was wondering if the controller is any good for general internet browsing? At the moment I use a remote on my phone to control my PC from bed but I would like to not have to turn on the phone to do it all the time.
Is there a good keyboard input method or would I be stuck with Windows virtual keyboard?
Is there a good keyboard input method or would I be stuck with Windows virtual keyboard?
You could take a look at some of the strategy games people are playing with it, if there isn't any browsing footage on Youtube. I'm guessing that would give you a pretty good indication as to how well it works.
EDIT: Trial By Game is using it in Divinity: OS here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuKbYqBUiJw
Balmung421
Member
Depends on when you want to get charged. Steam charges right away, while GameStop is the typical won't charge till you pick it up/it ships.
The Steam store will 100% definitely not get you an October 16th, but if someone has canceled their GS order, you might get lucky.
And still I wait. I'm getting annoyed.
HerpDerpstreit
Member
Ordered June 4th still shows "shipping soon".
I was going to order it next week and hope it came by the 10th. I haven't really been following the thread, are they shipping them out early?
digitaldiatribe
Banned
Only to those who bought them during the Early Bird sale. Everyone else has to wait until November.
SirMossyBloke
Member
Hang on, the 10th?? I thought early pre-orders were for the 17th?
flaxknuckles
Member
My tracking says the estimated delivery is Sat 10/10/2015.
digitaldiatribe
Banned
Did it not occur to anyone else that they're just getting the tracking stuff done first, ahead of time? This is a large shipment of stuff going out everywhere...
Jzero
Member
Yea but I've never seen any other company do this before, and I order a lot of stuff.
digitaldiatribe
Banned
Plenty of companies do it. They just don't surface the tracking information to the customer until the shipment is out the door.
SirMossyBloke
Member
Damn. So jealous.
Over range of thousands of units. Games are not big enough for these ranges to matter. The difference in a millionth of a degree is not reflected in any discernable way in the average game of quake.
No I didnt. I conceded that your wrist and thumb are not equally accurate. The touchpad and mouse themselves are functionally equivalent.
This is so easy that it is kind of boggling that you cant get it - name the function that a mouse has that a trackpad does not. Explain this supposed translation layer that exists because they do not have the same function.
You can't, because they are functionally equivalent.
Like I suggested days ago?
Glad you suck, because I'm not all that great at fps games either. When you lose, I assuke you'll concede rather than blaming lack of skill?
I mean it's easy to test for thing that never creep up in normal gameplay. You can test this in something like elite dangerous by running your engines for 24 hours unmanned and seeing where you'd end up. But absolutely nobody plays the game like that.
Nickerbocker98
Banned
Just curious for anyone who has it, how does the controller work with non-Steam games?
If you launch them though steam, they play fine. I have won several games of titanfall with this (against kbm users depsite my supoosed crippling handicap)
Nickerbocker98
Banned
Are user-made control presets a thing for non-Steam games or is that feature not available yet for even normal Steam games?
Also, that sounds great.
You can make and store your own preset, but you cant publish configs for non steam games. Unfortunately there isnt a way to manually export or import configs (yet), which would be precisely what you are asking for.
If you dont have steam running, it defaults to a legacy config, which is basically the control scheme for doom 3.
What is going on here?
I don't believe Durante's argument has anything to do with function, but with how that functionality can be used. It will allow for previously mouse and keyboard only games to be playable with a controller, and appears to bridge the gap between the poor precision and speed of traditional analogue-stick based controller, and mouse and keyboard, but I've seen no reason to believe it can match mouse and keyboard in performance. Aside from the physical limitations for space/sensitivity (for instance, I tend to play at 40cm/360 for most first-person games), there has been a few impressions and videos which suggest no one is going to be dropping mouse and keyboard for games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft 2, or Dota 2.
Perhaps I missed something about the argument, but that is my assessment. I think the fact that Valve managed to create a viable controller that is not only much more precise, prioritizes no thumb-lifts, and a number of other smart design features, but also removes most of the problems that result in negative game design from traditional controller is a remarkable achievement. But I see no reason to believe it's superior to mouse and keyboard in performance.
I don't believe Durante's argument has anything to do with function, but with how that functionality can be used. It will allow for previously mouse and keyboard only games to be playable with a controller, and appears to bridge the gap between the poor precision and speed of traditional analogue-stick based controller, and mouse and keyboard, but I've seen no reason to believe it can match mouse and keyboard in performance. Aside from the physical limitations for space/sensitivity (for instance, I tend to play at 40cm/360 for most first-person games), there has been a few impressions and videos which suggest no one is going to be dropping mouse and keyboard for games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft 2, or Dota 2.
Perhaps I missed something about the argument, but that is my assessment. I think the fact that Valve managed to create a viable controller that is not only much more precise, prioritizes no thumb-lifts, and a number of other smart design features, but also removes most of the problems that result in negative game design from traditional controller is a remarkable achievement. But I see no reason to believe it's superior to mouse and keyboard in performance.
You sure about that?
Who is saying this? The argument is that the steam controller has the same function and performance as a mouse and keyboard, not that it's anything more or less.
If your wrist and thumb are not equally accurate, and you use your thumb on the touchpad and wrist with the mouse, then transitively those are not equally accurate methods of control.
I see that now we are at "functionally equivalent" rather than "functionally identical".
The problem is that "normal gameplay" is a combination of many factors. Even, say, Q3A, which is a very "pure" FPS is at least as much about knowing level layouts and spawn timings as it is about aiming.
Since what this argument is about whether a touchpad is as accurate at aiming as a mouse the method of evaluating that should eliminate as many external factors as possible.
He just appears to be grouping performance in with functionality here, but most of his arguments have focused on the "performance" part.
Performance is a large part of what would differentiate two tools with the same function. To avoid further confusion, are you implying that the Steam controller can match a mouse and keyboard in performance in say any of the three games I listed?
For the purposes of these games, yes, they are equally accurate. the inaccuracies don't manifest in this control scheme.
They are also functional identical. Again - what function does a mouse have that a touchpad does not? Where is this translation layer? They are obviously functionally identical, because they are interchangable.
This is the quote you called bullshit:
So, again - when you lose, are you going to blame it on your lack of skill?
As I said 3 times now, I consider things to be functionally the same if they do not only perform the same function, but perform it equally well.
Do you or do you not claim that the steam controller touchpad is exactly as accurate and fast an aiming device as a mouse?
What I'm saying is that - regardless of who wins - it is a fun exercise, but clearly not the best to scientifically determine which method of aiming is superior (since success in the game is a result of many factors in addition to aiming). I'm sure you can see that.
My mouse score
lol I actually did better with my steam controller. I'd expect these two to average out over many runs, however, and become basically equal (as, for example, in my steam controller run, I had a moment where 3 targets appeared basically overlapping, allowing me to hit them easier). The numeric score isn't nearly as important as the hits and misses, and they're roughly the same.
Yes, you made that clear. That's not what being functionally identical means to most people, however. You are comparing what is called ergonomics, not function. The function of f(x) = a + b where a = 1 and b = 1 returns an identical result to the function f(x) = a + b + 0.
Given identical input, sure.
Titanfall is a game basically designed for a controller (same with many modern shooters), it never exceeds a controllers capabilities, you don't gain much in those types of games from using a keyboard and mouse in regards to competitiveness.
Try a game like CSGO even in the easy modes like Casual for a better measuring stick.
Well, since we already determined that the input actuator for the mouse (your wrist) is more accurate than for the touchpad (your thumb)...
Anyway, I'll leave this discussion with the aim400kg.com results for now, I need to get to work.
alexandros
Banned
Oh man, this is exciting
You guys have to stream this, it would be great fun for both you guys and the viewers.I doubt I can win at CSGO regardless of input. I'm not very good at counter strike.
BUT I actually do know someone who is a Pro CS player (or rather was back maybe about 10 years ago). I could get him to have a go with it.
Your wrist can do things that your thumb cannot in 3D space, but they don't come into play on a flat 2D surface, unless the surface is infinitely and unrealistically big. For the purposes of these games, yes, your thumb is as accurate as your wrist.
The results that show that I am better with my steam controller than my mouse.
I'd love to see this. If someone could do decent even in casual I'd finally be a believer in the Steampad.
I'll upload two videos, one of me playing with the steam controller, and one of me playing with KB&M. Keep in mind - I've never played CS Go before, according to steam I have 1 minute logged for CS Source, and the only CS game I ever really threw time into was CS 1.6. So this is about as blind of a run as can possibly be.
dangerskew
Member
Really excited to see this.
I'll upload two videos, one of me playing with the steam controller, and one of me playing with KB&M. Keep in mind - I've never played CS Go before, according to steam I have 1 minute logged for CS Source, and the only CS game I ever really threw time into was CS 1.6. So this is about as blind of a run as can possibly be.
Frankly, the results (compared to Arulan's and mine) seem to show that you are not very good at aiming in general. That's fine of course, but one might argue that this could be the reason you don't see a difference in performance between the methods.
Anyway, I'll run the thing once my Steam controller arrives.
ashecitism
Member
I don't know why people keep pushing this. Both Trial and Woodsie said it's not going to work. You'll also need a lot of practice, you can't just jump in there expecting to perform decently.
alexandros
Banned
It's going to be a fun event, it will showcase the controller in a competitive environment, the outcome doesn't really matter.
One might just as well argue that other external factors - a poor degree of spacial mapping - is causing my poor scores but the mechanics of each control method keeps my relative accuracy within the same ball park. I have a problem with FPS games on normal monitors - I get confused and don't know where I am very easily. It's why I don't play FPS games all that much. I navigate a room in an FPS game on a normal monitor then try and draw it back from memory and it winds up looking different than the actual map.
I am actually much better at FPS games and aiming in general with VR because I can discern distance location much better. Conventional 2D screens and FPS views confuse me.
I have no idea who trial or woodsie are, and I don't see why what they say should impact my performance.
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